Rep. Pence Wrongly Asserts Health Care Reform Funds Abortions

March 16, 2010 2:01 pm ET

During a floor speech on March 16, 2010, Rep. Mike Pence falsely claimed the health care reform bill contained "public funding of abortion." In reality, the bill explicitly bans federal money from funding abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the health of the mother is endangered.

Rep. Pence Claims Health Care Reform Would Fund
Abortions

REP. MIKE PENCE (R-IN): ... The bill, with
its cornhusker kickback, with its public funding of abortion, simply couldn't pass
the House floor. [Pence Floor Statement, 3/16/10]

Health Care Reform Does Not Provide Funding For
Abortion

ABC's World News Fact Check's Claim That
Health Care Reform Bill Funds Abortion. On
March 4, 2010, ABC's World News Tonight
examined the claim that the health care reform bill provided federal funding
for abortion. They found the claim to be
"wrong":

PolitiFact: "No Federal Funds -
Whether Through Tax Credits Or Cost-Sharing Credits - Could Be Used To Pay For
Abortions." According to Pulitzer Prize winning PolitiFact.com:

The Baucus plan explicitly states that no federal
funds - whether through tax credits or cost-sharing credits - could be used to
pay for abortions (again, unless the pregnancy is due to rape, incest, or if
the life of the mother is in danger). Insurers participating in any state-based
exchange that offers coverage for abortion "must segregate from any
premium and cost-sharing credits an amount of each enrollee's private premium
dollars that is determined to be sufficient to cover the provision of those
services."

[...]

[I]f the government isn't paying any more to an
insurance company to pay for abortion coverage, it means that insurance
companies that offer such coverage are. So essentially that cost will be passed
on to the insured people who select plans that cover abortions. Perhaps a federal
court would view this differently, but we think the court of common sense says
that if someone claims abortion would be subsidized with federal funds, it
suggests more federal tax dollars would pour into plans that cover abortion.
But they won't. The added cost will be borne by the people who select plans
that include abortion coverage. Those premiums will pay for abortions.
[PolitiFact.com, 9/21/09]

Expert: "The Senate
Bill, Like The House Bill, Prohibits The Use Of Federal Premium Subsidies To
Pay For Abortions." In an op-ed in The
Hill, Washington and Lee
University law professor
Timothy Stoltzfus Jost wrote, "I have taught and written about healthcare law
and policy for 30 years and am an author of the most widely used health law
teaching book... The Senate bill, like the
House bill, prohibits the use of federal premium subsidies to pay for abortions
that are not covered by Medicaid (that is, cases of rape and incest or of
physical threat to the life of the mother); provides that the government cannot
require health plans to cover abortion; prohibits health plans and federal
agencies or state and local governments receiving federal funds from
discriminating against providers because of their unwillingness to provide for,
pay for, provide coverage for or refer for abortion; and leaves in place all
state laws regulating abortion and federal law regarding conscience protection
or willingness to provide abortion. Neither bill affects abortion
coverage through employment-based plans." [Jost op-ed, The Hill, 3/11/10]